Just like that it is time to set goals for the new year! If you’d like to read my goals from 2021 and what I was able to accomplish – click here! My Genealogical Resolutions seem to date back to at least 2013, which means I have been doing this for at least 8 years now! At lot has been discovered since those days, yet there is still more to do! 2013 was the 2nd year of my blog so it’s amazing to see how much progress I have made since then as well.
2022 will be the 9th year of genealogical new year’s resolutions, here are my ten goals for the year. Let’s hope this is a good year for genealogy!
Genealogical Goals for 2022!
1. Revisit the Mallorca Archives in Palma, Mallorca
This one is a big “maybe” goal given the pandemic and the restrictions on travel but I would love to be able to travel to Mallorca in order to continue researching my line there. I was able to discover a lot both while I lived in Madrid and one summer spent there researching for about a week. It would be great to spend a month in Mallorca during research but I know that it depends on 1) where we are as a world with the pandemic and 2) personal funds. There is a lot left to research in Mallorca given that they have fairly good records and it seems my line via Damián Magraner is very rooted in Sóller.
2. Read five genealogical books
This goal should be easy to accomplish but I’m writing it here because it seems I evaded reading any genealogical book this year! I have a few books in my library I’d love to read and a few I want to order as well so we’ll see which I choose. Hopefully I can read up on a variety of topics within genealogy.
3. Research at the AGPR
Again, this goal is very dependent on how things are going in regards to the pandemic and travel, but I’m hoping I can go visit the AGPR (Archivo General de Puerto Rico) and do some more research there. For example, Manuel Ruiz my 7th great-grandfather was freed from slavery in the 1700s in Coamo. Would any documentation exist for him and his release? Also, in discovering some ancestors from San Sebastián, it seems that an ancestor left a testament – I wonder if it’s available in the AGPR. Another thing I want to see if it’s available at the AGPR are records showing the arrival of my 4th great-grandparents from Martinique and Guadeloupe. They came in through Vieques and then to Fajardo so I wonder if there are any passport records there for them.
4. Continue practicing French
Though not directly tied to genealogy itself, it’s an important skill for me as I continue to do genealogical research in the French Caribbean. Thanks to the French immersion program I did this summer I was able to communicate with a French genealogist (in French!) as he conducted research for me in the ANOM (Archives Nationales d’Outre Mer) in France. My goal is to one day actually visit Martinique and Guadeloupe and it would be great to be able to use French while I am there to get around. I want to hold myself accountable with French especially with all the work I put into it this summer.
5. Interview family members
This one is also a revisit goal and one I wish I had stuck to back when I made it. Unfortunately I lost my grandfather in the summer of 2020 and with him went a lot of his stories. While we were cleaning out his apartment, I was able to find a tape recorder with his voice. On it you can hear him reciting some of the poems he had written, so I am fortunate to have that. I am hoping this coming year to record my grandmother, my last living biological grandparent. There are a few other family members as well that I’d like to record but for sure my grandmother is a high priority. This way I have her voice, her memories, and any genealogical information record as well.
6. Continue to explore my Dávila line
Back in around 2018 I was able to discover the origins of my Dávila family in Puerto Rico which came from a town called San Juan del Puerto located in southern Spain. After finding their origin, I was fortunate enough to have been able to travel to Spain to conduct research in the town’s church and likely identify my 6th great-grandfather. I say “likely” because there are some discrepancies in the information but also I don’t have a record in Puerto Rico that mentions his parents’ names which means I could be tying two random branches together. Now, given the circumstances, the naming patterns, and the year range, I think I was able to find the right person but I’d love to re-explore this line to confirm what I have found. First, I need to take a look again at the records in Coamo and the surrounding towns to see if I can find more on the Dávila family and if I am able to travel to San Juan del Puerto again to conduct research, that would be amazing!
7. Consider going 'on the clock' for BCG
This goal is a big one! Being on the clock would mean that I would be working toward my certification with the BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists). I would assemble a portfolio with different forms of reports that would aim to hit different categories in genealogical research. If (and hopefully when) I pass (sometimes you need to resubmit if you didn’t pass the rubrics) then I would become a “CG” (Certified Genealogist) which would make me the “real deal”. This is big in the genealogical community and quite an honor, in my opinion. I want to be my strongest going into it so I have to decide when exactly I would like to apply. Taking ProGen for example increases my odds of passing according to the BCG website and this is likely given the type of work we do in that course. Once I finish my ProGen course in May I hope I will definitely know what I want to do.
8. Reach out to Quebradillas' Church
Given my luck with the church in San Sebastián, I hope to reach out to the Catholic church in Quebradillas to see if they have records for my ancestors. My great-grandfather’s maternal grandfather (Francisco Sánchez Flores) was said to have been from Quebradillas and the lack of a baptism for him in San Sebastián I hope is an indicator that he actually was from Quebradillas. I am not sure what records are and are not available but I’ll have to give them a call and see!
9. (Re)Research my 2nd great-grandmother Amalia Rivera Rodríguez
There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding my 2nd great-grandmother Amalia Rivera Rodríguez. Sometimes she used Rivera, other times just Rodríguez, and sometimes weirdly enough Masantini. She died at the age of about 38 years old and it seems she was born out of wedlock which causes a lot of the confusion. Her parents’ research has also been a bit of an enigma, so I hope I can clear up some of the mystery behind her because she’s not such a far off ancestor yet it’s hard to know what’s right or wrong about her since the records don’t match up always.
I’m hoping by digging into the documents again and maybe with the help of DNA I can identify more about Amalia and put the mystery to rest.
10. Take an "official" pro-bono client
Over the years, I have helped friends here and there fill in their family trees because they’ve had a general interest in their ancestry. However, I have never taken one on “as a client”. My goal would be to take someone on “pro bono” and treat them as a real client. Which would mean creating a contract, research plan, research report, compiling the evidence, etc. as if they had hired me.
Though, I could probably have someone actually hire me, I rather begin with a pro-bono client. Actually time myself, see what’s possible, see how I organize myself, and test how put to use what I have learned. This would hopefully prepare me as well for the BCG and see where my weaknesses are.
Those are my ten goals for the new year! Let’s see how many I can get done! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!
Thank you for all you are doing Luis!
Your posts are very helpful.
One of my goals this year is to find my Italian ancestry, which I think is somewhat connected to your paternal side. (Lazio, Calabria, Sicily)
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year! Interesting, I’d love to hear which ancestor this is potentially connected to!
It’s just a “hunch” but I think you mentioned in your blog having a paternal great-Aunt (Velez) and paternal great-Uncle (Velez) with Italian ancestry from Lazio, Calabria and Sicily on the “23 and me” test. My results show 2.8% Italian from the same regions and I am your 2nd cousin (2.25%) but a closer cousin to your Dad (3.41%).
Interesting! I’m not sure if it’s noise on my side of the family, though there of course was immigration from Italy and Corsica to Puerto Rico so one never knows! If you have any hints feel free to let me know!
Happy New Year and I hope you accomplish most of your resolutions.
Very interesting and I commend you on your genealogy work. You can considered me as your pro bono client. I have a German ancestor from Bremen that I will like to know more.
Thanks for your insight.
Did this German immigrant come to Puerto Rico? I’m not too well versed with German research so it will be a bit more difficult to probably do a pro-bono case on them.
I too am researching the Carcano last name. In my family tree it changed to Calcano along the way.
Yes – I’ve seen some records with Calcano as well! Which town is your Carcaño/Calcaño family from?